- Upendranath Brahmachari
Sir Upendranath Brahmachari (
December 19 ,1873 -February 6 ,1946 ) was a noted Indian scientist and a leading medical practitioner of his time. He synthesizedUrea Stibamine (carbostibamide) in 1922 and determined that it was an effective substitute for the otherantimony -containing compounds in the treatment ofKala-azar (Visceral leishmaniasis) which is caused by a protozoon,Leishmania donovani.His discovery led to the saving of millions of lives in India, particularly in the erstwhile province of
Assam , where several villages were completely depopulated by the devastating disease. The achievement of Brahmachari was a milestone in successful application of science in medical treatment in the years before arrival of antibiotics, when there were few specific drugs, exceptquinine formalaria ,iron foranaemia ,digitalis for heart diseases andarsenic forsyphilis . All other ailments were treated symptomatically by palliative methods. Urea Stibamine was thus a significant addition to the arsenal of specific medicines.Life
Upendranath Brahmachari was born on 19th December 1873 in Jamalpur,
Bihar . His father Nilmony Brahmachari was a physician in East Indian Railways. His mother's name was Saurabh Sundari Devi. He completed his early education from Eastern Railways Boys' High School, Jamalpur. In 1893, he passed B.A. degree fromHooghly Mohsin College with honours in Mathematics and Chemistry. Thereafter he went to study Medicine with Higher Chemistry. He passed his Masters degree in 1894 from thePresidency College, Kolkata . In M.B. Examination of 1900 of the University of Calcutta, he stood first in Medicine and in Surgery for which he received Goodeve and Macleod awards. He obtained his M.D. degree in 1902, and was awarded a PhD degree in 1904, for his research paper on “Studies in Haemolysis” both from theUniversity of Calcutta cite web|url=http://www.vigyanprasar.gov.in/scientists/UNBrahmachari.htm|title=Vigyan Prasar website - Upendra Nath Brahamachari] . In 1898, he married Nani Bala Devi.Brahmachari joined the Provincial Medical Service in September, 1899 and appointed as a teacher of
Pathology andMateria Medica , and physician in the Dacca Medical School in 1901. In 1905, he was appointed as a teacher in Medicine and Physician at the Campbell Medical School,Calcutta , where he carried out most of his work on Kala-azar and made his monumental discovery of Urea Stibamine. In 1923, he joined as Additional Physician in the Medical College Hospital. He retired from the Govt. Service as a physician in 1927. After retirement from the Government service Brahmachari joined the Carmichael Medical College as Professor of Tropical Diseases. He also served the National Medical Institute as In-charge of its Tropical Disease Ward. He was also the Head of the Department of Biochemistry and Honorary Professor of Biochemistry at the University College of Science, Calcuttacite web|url=http://www.vigyanprasar.gov.in/scientists/UNBrahmachari.htm|title=Vigyan Prasar website - Upendra Nath Brahamachari] . Around 1924, Brahmachari established the "Brahmachari Research Institute" in his own residence in Cornwallis Street (Vidhan Sarani), Kolkata. This institute was later converted into a Partnership concern with his sons Phanindra Nath and Nirmal Kumar. Under his guidance this Institute did quite well both in the fields of research and manufacture of medicine. The institute stopped functioning in 1963cite web|url=http://www.vigyanprasar.gov.in/scientists/UNBrahmachari.htm|title=Vigyan Prasar website - Upendra Nath Brahamachari] .ocial services
Brahmachari played an important part in the formation of the world's second Blood Bank in Kolkata in 1939. He was the Chairman of the Blood Transfusion Service of Bengal. He was the Vice President of the St. John Ambulance Association of the Bengal branch and also its President. He was the first Indian to become the Chairman of the Managing Body of the Indian Red Cross Society of the Bengal Branch. He generously contributed to the High School in
Purbasthali (inBardhaman district ) near his ancestral house. The school was later renamed as the "Purbasthali Nilmony Brahmachari Institution"cite web|url=http://www.vigyanprasar.gov.in/scientists/UNBrahmachari.htm|title=Vigyan Prasar website - Upendra Nath Brahamachari] .Awards and honours
For his achievements, he received many awards. Most notable among them are, the Griffith Memorial Prize of the University of Calcutta, the Minto Medal by the Calcutta School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (1921), the
Kaisar-i-Hind Gold Medal by the Governor General Lord Lytton (1924), Knighthood by the British Government (1934) and Sir William Jones Medal by the Asiatic Society of Bengal.Brahmachari was a nominee for the
Nobel Prize in 1929 in the category of physiology and medicine. He was president of the 23rd session of the Indian Science Congress in Indore (1936). He was the President of the Indian Chemical Society, Calcutta (1936). He was honoured with the fellowships of the Royal Society of Medicine, London and the National Institute of Sciences of India. He was the President of the Asiatic Society of Bengal for two years (1928-29). He was also the Vice-Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Indian Museum.The Kolkata Municipal Corporation renamed Loudon Street as Dr. U.N. Brahmachari Street.
Important works
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
